A Study In Magic
by SilvCyanide
Summary: Magic!AU/Dedicated to Eve Of The Stars/Pre-KaiShin Shinichi is most definitely a veritable genius with an IQ that hardly anybody could meet, no doubt about that. Unfortunately for him though, it isn't enough to stop his spells from blowing up in his face every time he attempts to cast one. In comes the top student of their year and possibly the entire Academy... Full Sum. Inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes: Ahahaha, I was way too obvious with my hint dropping in the third chapter of 'The Journey To Save A Princess' it seems and the very first reviewer got a bullseye for both of my questions so they win this one-shot! If you haven't figured it out yet, Aegis is a member of the merfolk who can assume a humanoid shape and the owner of the scale is one of his family members (not saying who just yet. You'll have to read on to find out) so that's why he was so protective of it.**

 **So congratulations Eve Of The Stars! I've already PM'ed them and they have requested for a pre-KaiShin Magic AU so enjoy!**

 **Summary: Magic!AU/Dedicated to Eve Of The Stars/Pre-KaiShin**

Shinichi is most definitely a veritable genius with an IQ that hardly anybody could meet, no doubt about that. Unfortunately for him though, it isn't enough to stop his spells from blowing up in his face every time he attempts to cast one. In comes the top student of their year and possibly the entire Academy, Kuroba Kaito. Through a series of events, Kaito ends up being Shinichi's tutor in magic. Will this possibly bring the two of them together?

 **X**

Shinichi let out a startled shrie - _yell_ , he let out a startled yell - and quickly dove to the side as the head-sized stone that was floating roughly four feet in the air with the help of magic caused said magic that surrounded it to pulse irregularly - somehow because he refused to admit that it was due to him - before it trembled slightly and combusted in a shower of dust, pebbles and sharp shards of rock. He huffed and picked himself up from the leaf-covered forest floor, dusting off the slightly rumpled navy-blue, floor length magician's robes (standard issue uniform, red for first-years, blue for second-years, green for third-years, yellow for fourth-years and purple for fifth-years) that he was currently clad in and scrubbed at his face in frustration after this failure which would make it his twenty-third. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't successfully cast a spell. Oh, it wasn't that he was bad at magic-related stuff or anything, on the contrary, he excelled at various fields of the art, be it spellwork, alchemy, beast-taming, divination or even potion brewing - just the theory part though. When it came to actually putting the theory into practice, he fumbled around more clumsily than a two-year old toddler and it had always been a source of embarrassment and general stab-to-the-pride that even _Suzuki Sonoko_ was better at getting her spells to behave properly. Which led to where he was right now, in the middle of the forest within the Academy grounds where they kept the beasts that were used in demonstrations in beast-taming class (bad, bad memories) at an unholy hour of three-forty-two in the morning, give or take a few minutes - his Time Check spell had been one of the _only_ spells he could actually cast successfully, to his never ending shame - trying not to burst out in uncharacteristic swears at the boulder already missing large chunks and really didn't deserve the abuse that he was unleashing on it in the name of improving his spellcasting.

Ran had politely suggested for him to get a tutor (while struggling to contain her laughter at his most recent failure).

Shinichi had politely said 'No' (his pride wouldn't allow it).

It wasn't entirely his fault though, part of the blame could be placed on his (inherited) absolute lack of creativity. The first thing any young, aspiring magician learned after stepping into the Academy's grand gates was the source of magic and the method of successfully casting spells. There were two important things needed to ensure the spell went without a hitch. One was a source of magic power (mana) as without sufficient mana, a spellcaster could die due to over exhausting their mana source to cast a spell and causing the spell to have to leech off their life energy - the thing that literally gave a person life - to be successfully cast. The other was a clear picture of what one envisioned the spell to do and then using the mana to project it out into being. Incantations were sometimes used as they helped in envisioning what the spellcaster wanted to happen with the spell.

Shinichi could say he had mana in buckets, being ranked as the second highest in raw magic power just after some person named black feather or something who was apparently a never-before-seen genius, overflowing in both imagination and mana though Shinichi really didn't bother keeping up with the school gossip (although there was an interesting rumor how this top ranker looked startlingly similar to Shinichi himself, so much so that more than just a few people had come up to him to ask if they were twins or at least related). What Shinichi couldn't say was that he was a person of boundless imagination. He was absolutely fantastic at things to do with calculations and memory, things that were already proven to be true multiple times over, nothing to do with intangible things such as fantasy and imagination. He understood the theory behind it but just couldn't grasp how to change his thoughts into solid form, that's all.

Back to the topic on hand.

Shinichi shook out his sleeves and watched the dirt trapped in the folds crumble and scatter to the ground as he picked up another rock, this time roughly the size of his fist to try again. Concentrating, he first thought of the rock floating steadily in the air and then shoot towards a nearby tree trunk and collide with it. Keeping that image clear in his mind (or as clear as he could), he dipped into his veritable pool of magic power and slowly drew it out, channeling it into the immobile rock in his hand. The rock trembled for a few moments before shakily starting to rise into the air and Shinichi felt a flutter of hope rise up in him.

 _Could it be...?_

His hopes were dashed with the tell-tale fluctuations of the rock's aura just before it, like the previous rocks that came that preceded it, exploded with the force of a hammer swung at high speeds and sending sharp shards scattering every which way. Groaning aloud and wincing slightly at the small cuts the flying rock pieces had left on the exposed parts of his body and shook out his sleeves until they settled heavily by his side. Shooting the sky a quick glance, Shinichi began making his way back towards the dormitory building, clambering over tree roots and low-hanging branches that clawed at his cheeks and left thin tracks down his arm.

In his silent battle with the greenery, Shinichi never noticed a person dressed in green watching him with amused indigo eyes.

 **X**

"Shinichi, don't you think that you should really consider getting a tutor?"

Shinichi cringed inwardly when Ran muttered those words to him even as he settled his book bag beside her on the wooden bench and sat down heavily, rubbing at his tired eyes. It was currently slightly after breakfast and a few minutes before their very first class of the day - Runes, if his memory served him right, and it usually did - and yet Shinichi was already exhausted, having had little to no sleep the previous night due to being out in the forest practicing his magic. The consequences of such an action were already being felt as Shinichi struggled to keep his head up and not plunk it down on the tabletop and fall asleep. He yawned slightly before answering Ran, having heard that question often enough to not need to even think about his reply.

"I'm fine, Ran."

Ran stared at him disapprovingly, looking like she was about to nag at him again as she opened her mouth- ("Shinichi, you need to a-")

-only to get cut off by the sudden opening of the door as two figures walked in, their teacher and an unknown person who was dressed in a forest-green robe (an upperclassman then) bearing startling resemblance to one Kudo Shinichi. Except for the slight difference in height - Shinichi was about an inch shorter - and eye colour - Shinichi had blue eyes, this person had indigo - as well as the difference in hairstyles - Shinichi made sure to comb his hair neatly every morning, this person looked like he rolled out of bed looking like that and just didn't bother fixing his hair - they were exactly alike in appearance.

Hearing the sudden buzzing of the class, Shinichi lifted his head from his hand and peered around, first sweeping over his fellow classmates, some of whom were shooting him curious glances, then his teacher who looked to be close to losing his temper at the disorderly conduct of his class, and finally landing on the man - teen really - who had followed the teacher in and was now studying Shinichi with an unreadable expression in his eyes, a friendly but oh so plastic smile on his lips.

 _So, this is the supposed 'black feather' who is at the very top of the academy in terms of sheer brilliance?_

The teacher coughed sharply, then had a vein pop on his forehead when the class ignored him in favour of chattering about the new addition and clenched his fist. Shinichi smirked to himself and covered his eyes just as the teacher's fist started glowing in a familiar light with the brightness of a star before he flung his arm outward and caused a mini-supernova to go off in the middle of the not-so-large study hall. Everyone who didn't manage to block their eyes in time (that was, the rest of the class sans Shinichi and Ran as well as a few others) were cringing from the burst of light that swam across their vision. When the light died down, Shinichi noticed their upperclassman-who-was-for-some-reason-very-interested-in-Shinichi didn't show any obvious signs of having been affected by the light at all despite not having done anything to block the burning rays. A closer look showed that this was not the case and the teen's jaw was clenched, his smile slightly strained and pain was very cleverly concealed in his eyes.

If it wasn't so impolite to do so, Shinichi would have snorted.

The teacher cleared his throat, veins popping out in irritation as he tapped a finger on the wall and Shinichi watched with slight awe as colours burst out in flowing streams from his fingertips and twisted into legible words hovering in the air slightly in front of the wall, spelling out the words, 'Student Teacher Volunteer Session' in bright red and below it, in orange and slightly smaller, 'Lesson On Runes: Inscribing' and, further below that, this time written in a garish yellow, 'Student Teacher: Kuroba Kaito'.

Instantly whispers started up again though not as fierce and it quickly died down though Shinichi could tell that they were talking about this newly introduced Kuroba Kaito, whose name Shinichi actually remembered - finally - as the name of the student who had firmly held onto the number one spot in the Academy Rankings ever since his admission three years prior. The teacher cleared his throat slightly before beginning to speak, voice still slightly wheezy from the expenditure of magic power.

"Ahem, as you can see, the Academy will be introducing a new program where volunteers from the upper levels will sometimes sit in on classes to help in demonstrations as well as give them the experience of teaching. The Academy hopes that by doing this, you will be able to better understand the topics taught when taught by one of your upperclassmen instead of the professor. The student who has been assigned to this class is Kuroba Kaito from year three. Today, he will be the one teaching Runes and I will simply observe from the back of the class."

At that, the teacher gave a short glance to Kuroba and he grinned widely as he stepped forward, robes billowing in an overly dramatic fashion - in Shinichi's very honest opinion, of course - and with a bounce in his step, he chirped out,

"My name is Kuroba Kaito, just call me Kaito. I'll be your teacher for today, nice to meet you!"

 **X**

Okay, he had to admit, this Kuroba - Kaito - knew what he was talking about.

Shinichi had at first thought that, like in most cases, Kaito's capabilities were simply blown up by the rumors and in actuality he was not as good as what many people claimed he was. He was quickly proven wrong when the mischievous and brightly cheerful look slid off his face and was instead replaced by a slightly more serious expression as Kaito snapped fingers and in a flurry of colours even more breathtaking than the teacher's, streams of blue, purple and indigo coiled around in the air above their heads and formed into words as well as a few simple runes and magic circles. Launching into his explanation, Shinichi felt himself get caught up in the older boy's explanation and was pleasantly surprised to find it easy to understand and not as dreary as their usual portly teacher's lessons were. Quickly pulling out a piece of paper and a pen, Shinichi furiously scribbled down the words coming from Kaito's mouth and marveled again how it seemed that the other knew exactly how much was enough to make sure that all his temporary students knew all the information necessary yet not so much that it would be a race of who-was-faster to write down everything before he finished speaking. It was, a much appreciated change from his usual hectic note-taking.

However, no matter how excellent the boy's lesson on theory was, Shinichi knew that it was not the hardest part. The most difficult part would be the practical, in the second half of the lesson.

Finally the time came when they were all supposed to put away their books and collect an engraving pen as well as a ceramic cup from the woven basket at the front of the classroom and begin inscribing the rune that they were focusing on for that day, the 'Harden' rune.

Like its name, the 'Harden' rune served to increase the toughness of whatever it was inscribed on and if done correctly, would prevent previously fragile items such as glass or ceramic from breaking even when flung at the ground. There were even rumors that even though this was such a basic rune, the truly powerful magicians were able to fortify walls of cities to prevent invaders from breaching or reinforce chains that would be able to restrain even the strongest of magical beasts. Though such rumors were merely that, rumors and it was commonly used to toughen the windows of shop houses or prevent expensive china from breaking so easily.

Shinichi picked up his engraving pen and took a deep breath, focusing on the tiny teacup in his hand. Around him, there were flashes of light from his classmates and either yelps of delight or groans of despair that told him clearly who failed and who succeeded, although since this was such an easy rune to learn, it was not very common for someone's magic to fizzle out in weak sparks and the rune do absolutely nothing.

He placed the thin yet rounded tip of the engraving pen on the side of the teacup and tugged on his magic power, willing it to flow into the pen in his hand. Instantly, the spidery black lines that gave it a cracked look lit up in a piercingly bright flash of dark blue light and the rounded tip started glowing. Being ever so careful, Shinichi dragged the pen down, then across, then down again. Once he finished the rune however, it, not completely unexpectedly, pulsed for a moment before fizzling out, sending some blue sparks scattering to the table and leaving a rather tingly taste in the air. Heaving a long sigh, Shinichi once again accepted that he would not be able to successfully draw the rune and chanced a quick glance to his right to look at how Ran was doing. Unsurprisingly, she was already done and was currently dropping her cup roughly one meter above the coarse stone floor and watching it be outlined in a weak pink glow before it seemed to almost bounced as it impacted the floor and clattered to a stop, completely undamaged before she picked it up and did it all over again. Furrowing his eyebrows in a slight feeling of hopelessness, Shinichi tried drawing the rune again, having it fail and doing it over and over until he was panting slightly with a few beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. It seemed that the day would be full of nothing but failures again, like always.

"You need to channel your feelings into the pen."

Shinichi startled and turned his head to the fast so quickly his neck ached slightly as he came almost nose-to-nose with their Student Teacher, Kaito. Looking at him uncomprehendingly, Shinichi could only let out a confused, 'what?' as he tried to understand the meaning being those words. Smiling ambiguously, Kaito merely shook his head in indication that he wasn't going to give anymore hints before turning around and walking away, towards a poor girl whose rune was drawn too weakly and couldn't stop her cup from shattering on the floor.

Shinichi turned back towards the cup in his hand and felt his brow furrow even more. _Channel my feelings? What does that even mean? Could it be…?_

In partial disbelief, Shinichi raised his pen again but this time, instead of going about it with the detached manner of a scientist observing an experiment, he focused on what he wanted to convey through the rune - the non-breaking of the cup - and the pen lit up far more brightly than it ever had before, even though he wasn't channelling more than the usual amount of magic power into the pen. In fact, it was so bright that some of the students from the neighbouring tables looked over in curiosity.

Placing the nib on the smooth surface, he began to write. And this time, his strokes stayed on the cup, layering in power with every new line until they positively hummed from the sheer magic power being poured into it. With the very last stroke, instead of fizzling out and dispersing like usual, the sigil on the surface wavered slightly like a rippling pool of water before sinking into the cup itself and causing it to be outline by a thin but strong layer of dark blue light. In hesitation, Shinichi slowly let the cup fall from his hand, all too aware that the attention of the class was on him, the boy-genius that couldn't perform magic.

It wobbled as it fell, the world seeming to be in slow motion as it inched its way towards the floor before finally - _finally_ \- impacting…

… and activating the magic. The light that glowed caused many to widen their eyes in shock because the cup, contrary to expectations, _did not break_. Instead, it bounced across the floor and rolled around on its side before coming to a rest by Shinichi's feet, completely unscathed.

Shinichi himself felt rather happy as he didn't expect that it would actually work and he could barely stop himself from cheering in joy.

 _For the first time ever, my rune actually worked!_

 **X**

 **A/N: So hey, I know this is really late and it's not even complete but hear me out please! I have unfortunately started drifting away from the KaiShin fandom *loud gasps of shock ensue*. Yes, yes, I know that I have two incomplete stories sitting prettily on my account but I can't find the motivation to write anything for them. The only reason I was able to write this one was because the actual theme of the story interested me quite a lot. So, as of right now as I am typing this, it is currently 12.41 AM on the 9th of January 2016 and I am putting both of those stories on HIATUS. Now, do not misunderstand me, I am in no way abandoning them and instead putting them on hold until the KHR! fandom releases me from their hold. So until then, this will be the only one that is updated until I complete it. Thanks for reading, please remember to review and favourite or follow if you feel so inclined. Toss me a PM if you have anything to ask me.**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **-SilvCyanide**


	2. Chapter 2

**A Study In Magic: Chapter 2.**

 **Notes: Hey, hey! Here's the second chapter for ASIM. I have no excuses, good news, I finally escaped the KHR! fandom. Bad news, I got snagged by the Haikyuu! fandom almost immediately so there's that.**

 **(IwaOi and BokuAka is terribly cute though)**

 **Anyways, the story should end in this chapter or the next, we shall see. For further information, please refer to the author's note at the bottom of the chapter.**

 **Summary:** **Magic!AU/Dedicated to Eve Of The Stars/Pre-KaiShin**

Shinichi is most definitely a veritable genius with an IQ that hardly anybody could meet, no doubt about that. Unfortunately for him though, it isn't enough to stop his spells from blowing up in his face every time he attempts to cast one. In comes the top student of their year and possibly the entire Academy, Kuroba Kaito. Through a series of events, Kaito ends up being Shinichi's tutor in magic. Will this possibly bring the two of them together?

 **X**

Shinichi had thought that since he had successfully executed a magic rune, he would be able to properly use magic from that time onwards.

Shinichi had been wrong.

He understood this very well when his potion literally _blew up_ in his face at the 'infuse your magic into the brew' step and when he failed to contract with his summoned beast during the very first actual summoning rites. He had tried to channel his magic into the summoning array (consisting of a Call ring, a Protection ring and a Binding ring) and make a pact of equals with the sleek boto that twirled happily in the air, constantly letting out a series of cheerful chirps but unexpectedly for the normally gentle pink river dolphin, it flung itself at Shinichi with jaws opened wide and small but sharp teeth glinting, as if wanting to attack him but was stopped short when it crashed into the Protection ring the moment he let a trickle of magic flow into the Binding ring to form a contract with it.

He had toppled onto his backside in shock as the dolphin charged at him continuously, the previously pleasant-sounding trills mangled and became something out of his worst nightmare that grated harshly on his ears and echoed in his skull even after he had, shakingly, reversed the summoning and sent the dolphin back to wherever it had previously answered his call from, shrieking all the way. His teacher had sent him off to the infirmary with a concerned question and a look full of badly concealed pity.

Shinichi had stood up with his legs feeling like jello and his bag slung over one shoulder and walked back into the Academy building, his classmates' murmuring hanging heavily off his shoulders like a patch of mist, suffocating and blinding. His feet stepped irregularly on the forested ground and the leaves underfoot crunched softly.

He leaned heavily against one of the outer walls of the Academy, vision swimming. The cries of the boto still rung in his ears and it made him want to throw up.

Of course, the boto's angered cries had the nasty side effect of aversely affecting the human body, how much you were affected was directly proportional to how much innate magic you had. How could he have forgotten this detail, Shinichi distinctly reading about it in a book titled 'Magical Creatures and Their Habitats' just a little over two weeks ago.

His name trickled into his ears from somewhere behind him, the voice calling out to him vaguely familiar and Shinichi whirled around to face whoever called him, or tried to, at least.

The abrupt movement sent inky blackness clawing into his vision and Shinichi found his legs suddenly giving out on him, sending him crashing to the floor, head about to collide harshly with a sharp rock sticking out of the ground, partially buried in the loose soil when a warm stream of orange light surrounded his body and his descent slowed significantly, a flurry of green robes and brown hair and purple - the colour of _amethysts_ \- eyes the last thing he saw; a warm voice tinged with worry the last thing he heard; a comforting scent of vanilla and cinnamon the last thing he smelled.

Kaito breathed a sigh of relief when he safely had Shinichi ensconced in his arms, sweat beading on the back of his neck at the near miss. He would have smashed his head into the rock if not for Kaito having such an insanely fast casting speed and everybody knew head injuries were the most dangerous. It was possible to regrow limbs, even if plenty of pain had to be undergone in the process, but it was possible. A brain would be much, much more difficult, most probably impossible since even if the brain was regenerated, the person within would no longer be the same.

A slight movement in his arms caused him to jerk slightly in surprise and he looked down to see an unconscious Shinichi snuffle into his sleeve, breathing in deeply and shifting in Kaito's arms. A fond smile danced on his lips and Kaito heaved himself up from the dusty ground, readjusting the precious cargo in his arms and continued on into the Academy, heading toward the infirmary.

 **X**

Shinichi reawoke to a dull throb in his temple, the sweet smell of potions and the soft murmur of voices beside him. He was lying on something cool and soft, a silky smooth feeling under his fingertips. Gingerly opening his eyes halfway, he peered around under his lashes and instantly noticed someone sitting by what he had now already determined as his infirmary bed. The other was wearing a green robe and Shinichi instantly recognized the indigo eyes that was currently studying his face. He tried to sit up but a burst of pain shot through his mind and he winced before a warm hand covered his eyes and pushed him back until he laid back down against the pillow. A soothing sensation rushed into his head and eased the pain, sending a rush of delightful warmth coursing through his veins. The voices became clearer as the pain receded until he could actually make out what the nurse - it _was_ the nurse who was the other voice, right? - was saying. It seemed to concern him actually and was being directed towards himself. She seemed to be chiding him on not taking care of himself well enough that led to him becoming weak enough to be affected so drastically by the boto's melody in the first place. He cringed because, well, she wasn't _wrong_ , he might have skipped out on much needed hours of sleep to - futilely - practice his magic and judging by the blurry but vaguely disapproving look the nurse shot him, it seemed she also knew what he had been up to.

With a final order of _make sure to drink this potion every night until I clear you or the consequences will be unpleasant_ the nurse exited the room and shut the door behind her, leaving just him and Kaito in the small space smelling strongly of medicinal herbs and poultice. Just as Shinichi was weighing his options on how to relieve some of the mildly awkward atmosphere in the air, Kaito cleared his throat and spoke up,

"If you're having trouble with magic, I can help you some."

Shinichi gaped at him and almost automatically his usual reply to this sort of question of _no thanks, I'm fine_ lingered on the tip of his tongue, something stopping him from uttering those words. Ah, logic, that was what was holding him back. He knew that he was bad at magic and that it was likely that if he was to continue trying vainly to improve by his probably heavily flawed methods, all that would result from it was failure and more failure. So it was with a conceding sigh that he agreed to Kaito's offer. After all, having the best magician in the school personally tutor you wasn't half bad, was it?

 **X**

 **A/N: I'm just the best aren't I? Two months of no updates and when I finally** _ **do**_ **update it's a pathetic 1000 word piece. What can I say? Real life man, it sucks you in sometimes. (Also this weird but oddly endearing thing called Miraculous Ladybug but shh...)**

 **Anyways~ (Totally using tildes wrong)**

 **Thanks for reading, please leave a review.**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **-SilvCyanide**


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes: So, uh, I got dragged** _ **back**_ **into KaiShin hell and that's why this is posted now when originally I intended for it to be posted, oh, maybe a month or two later in September. Regardless, it's up now so, enjoy! This is the absolute final chapter, I know I've dragged this story out long enough so I want to wrap it up quickly.**

 **Also, I got a review asking me why I chose a Boto for Shinichi that first time. The reason is that Boto are mythical pink dolphins and dolphins are widely regarded as very intelligent, a fact with I associated with Shinichi. That's it.**

 **Summary:** Shinichi is most definitely a veritable genius with an IQ that hardly anybody could meet, no doubt about that. Unfortunately for him though, it isn't enough to stop his spells from blowing up in his face every time he attempts to cast one. In comes the top student of their year and possibly the entire Academy, Kuroba Kaito. Through a series of events, Kaito ends up being Shinichi's tutor in magic. Will this possibly bring the two of them together?

 **X**

Shinichi had to admit, it wasn't half-bad at all, having the best magician in the whole school personally tutor him that is. Despite appearances, Kaito knew what he was talking about - and he talked about _a lot_ of interesting facts, mostly regarding spells but also occasionally of summoned beasts and the contracting of beasts. He had even successfully managed to make a contact with Holmes, an intelligent Cŵn Annwn with fur of the darkest black that didn't reflect any light and actually seemed to absorb the luminance from the sun. Cŵn Annwn were also known as Hellhounds and their howls usually preluded a death, although when Shinichi saw the cutely romping tiny black puppy skirting around his ankles and affectionately nuzzling against his palm, almost begging to be petted, it was difficult to reconcile that image with the fiercely proud creatures pictured in the countless history tomes littering the library shelves.

As he gently stroked the coarse fur that lined the head of the Hellhound, scratching a small spot behind his ears that usually had Holmes toppling over into a contented heap, Shinichi pondered over the actual contract making with the canine and the fact that it wasn't due to his performed procedures that screwed him over but rather his _emotions_. Shinichi would be offended if he didn't also despairingly acknowledge that it was completely and utterly true.

" _Okay, I think I see your problem now."_

 _Kaito remarked after a brief pause, staring at Shinichi as he lay collapsed and exhausted on his side, the Roc that he had called into the summoning circle giving one final, offended screech before it stared disdainfully at him and vanished with a single touch of the Call ring by Kaito._

 _Kaito shook his head slightly before adopting a scholarly air, a faint green glow surrounding his figure before a tiny white dove-like bird appeared literally from nowhere into the air in front of him, fluttering down to land on an outstretched finger. It trilled at Kaito and almost absentmindedly, Kaito brought his other hand to smooth down the feathers on the 'dove''s head, although with the magic undulations emitted from Kaito, Shinichi would bet his money on it actually being Kaito's contracted summoned beast in a smaller form._

" _This is Tsuki, she's a Caladrius."_

 _Shinichi felt a spark of recognition at that name, information flowing to the front of his mind easily as water._

 _A Caladrius is an all-white bird that lives in the king's house. If it looks into the face of a sick man, it means that he will live, but if the caladrius looks away, the sick man will die of his illness. To cure the sick man, the caladrius looks at him, and drawing the sickness into itself, the bird flies up toward the sun, where the disease is burned up and destroyed._

 _It made perfect sense, Shinichi muses, Kaito was such a cheerful and energetic individual, his very presence seemed to heal the spirits of whoever talked to him for a few minutes, Shinichi himself being on the receiving end of that mystical power multiple times. He was broken out of his musings when Kaito continued,_

" _The issue here is that you're seeing the contract as a goal and the summoned beast as simply being a 'tool' to achieving that goal. Simply put, you're treating a summoning contract as if it were like any other potion or spell to complete and you're thinking of it in a detached analytical manner-"_

 _Here Kaito breaks off briefly to pluck a small bag of grain from inside a spatial pocket and offer it to the Caladrius, who chirps happily and digs in,_

" _-the thing is, contracts don't work like that,_ _ **summoned beasts**_ _don't work like that. Trying to complete the contract in this manner will only serve to anger the summoned beast. Instead, try sending your sincerity and resolve to the summoned beast as you offer a contract and most likely the beast will accept, or at least not react violently. Now, try again."_

 _Shinichi absorbs the advice and sits in the springy soft grass, processing what he has heard. When his mana pool has replenished to a sufficient level, he stands up again, groaning at the mild muscle ache in his limbs and back and strides over to the summoning circle. A nick on his thumb, a few drips of his blood and another infusion of his mana into the Call ring later, Shinichi feels his consciousness connect with the Ether, the sort of 'go-between' zone where his offer was sent ringing out to all the minds of any listening, uncontracted summoned beasts and waiting for the fastest one to respond._

 _A tug on his mind let him know that a beast had accepted the offer and Shinichi watched as a rift appeared in the air, approximately three metres tall and one-and-a-half metres across. A black, clawed paw stepped out before the body followed and Shinichi watched as a ferocious-looking canine with glowing crimson-red eyes, menacingly long fangs and shaggy black fur stepped out, gaze seeming to bore into Shinichi's soul as it stared unblinkingly at him. Shinichi swallowed hard as he took in the massive dog. Hellhound, his mind helpfully told him and it took a prod in the side from Kaito to make him continue with the contract._

 _Pressing his fingers to one of the runes drawn out with chalk, channelling his magic into the rune and watching as a deep blue glow lit up the rune and an electric feeling spread through the air around him, which he knew to be the sensation of magic. Focusing hard, Shinichi tried to keep what Kaito said in his mind and tried to convey his sincerity to the Hellhound, an offer of being contracted woven into the intention. The Hellhound studied Shinichi for a moment longer and Shinichi felt cold sweat beading at his forehead. What if…_

 _To his glee, the Hellhound bowed its head after another moment and a purple glow shot out from between the Hellhound's eyes, meeting with the flow of deep blue mana and mixing with it. Shinichi gasped, feeling another consciousness suddenly brushing against the edge of his mind before firmly locking in, with a click that Shinichi would almost swear was there but one he knew most probably wasn't._

 _The shield from the Protection ring dissolved and the Hellhound bounded out, shrinking into a tiny puppy that barked excitedly and wove around Shinichi's ankles in a figure eight._

 _Bending down to pick it up, Shinichi stared into its eyes before breaking into a large smile, aware of Kaito's proud gaze on him._

" _I'll name you Holmes, what do you say about that?"_

 _Holmes sent back a nudge of approval and Shinichi broke out in exhilarated laughter as he collapsed onto the grass, the joy of contracting a summoned beast overwhelming him._

 _Kaito felt his heart skip a beat at the smile on Shinichi's face and frowned in contemplation._

 **X**

Shinichi stuffed a sandwich into his mouth, swallowing it down with a gulp of scalding hot coffee and almost burning his tongue in the process. Beside him, Kaito chuckled at his pained expression as Shinichi frantically groped for a cup of cold lemonade, soothing his abused tastebuds with the cool liquid.

They had originally come out here to help Shinichi practice for his second-year final exams - he could only thank his lucky stars that it was due to the first-year exams only focusing on theory and not practical application - but Kaito had suggested that they take a break after three hours of non-stop spellcasting. Shinichi was showing marked improvement and it showed in his classes. Previously the dead last in anything other than written work, Shinichi could now be considered above average in the casting of spells too, and his potions could actually be consumed without side effects now. While not stellar, it was an astonishing improvement for just a few months of tutoring and Shinichi's title of genius was not only for show after all. Ran had commented on his sharp improvement and demanded to meet his tutor, which led to the introduction of Kaito to Ran - though she evidently didn't forget the older boy - and Shinichi was regretting doing that, seeing as Kaito and Ran seemed to be collaborating together on some master plan in the interest of Shinichi's health.

In spite of all his half-hearted protests, Shinichi greatly appreciated their concern, though he would never mention that to Kaito for fear that the older magician's ego would swell even further. Their concern had even caused rosiness to return to Shinichi's cheeks and filled out the gaunt look his face previously had.

It was also due to this master plan that Kaito insisted on taking breaks between training to eat and relax when Shinichi would have ploughed on instead, wilfully ignoring his body's protest for rest for more practice.

So here they were now, sitting on a picnic blanket that Kaito had pulled out from his spatial pocket and laid out on the damp grass, chewing on barely warm food provided by Ran who had looked inordinately pleased that Shinichi was spending so much time with Kaito. Shinichi suspected that she was glad he had made another friend besides her, Sonoko and Hattori (who studied in another school in the West).

Giving a sigh of contentment, Shinichi allowed himself the brief luxury of falling backwards onto the picnic blanket's soft and woven surface beside Kaito, laying his hand over his eyes and enjoying the warm breeze tickling his cheeks. He must have dozed off at some point too because when he next opened his eyes, the sun had set halfway and he was being shaken awake by Kaito.

Groggy and still half-asleep, he couldn't help himself from thinking that silhouetted against the setting sun, Kaito looked unusually beautiful.

(Later, he would freak out over this completely unexpected thought in the privacy of his own room.)

 **X**

"Kaito! I got an S on my final practical results!"

Elatedly, Shinichi sprinted over to Kaito who was waiting for him by the large tree near the classrooms, a thin sheet of paper clutched in his hands and a large smile on his face. Kaito grinned at him, hand rising in a thumbs up as his other arm reached out to catch a Shinichi who was running too fast to be able to slow down before colliding against Kaito.

With a loud 'oomph!', they toppled onto the grass, a few students nearby looking over in curiosity before turning back to whatever they were doing once they realised that it was nothing but Kaito and Shinichi.

"Great job!" Kaito replied, brushing off the dirt on his forest-green robe and helping Shinichi to his feet. The grading on every test, in ascending order would be E, D, C, B, A, S and SS, previously Shinichi had always received an S or SS on his written, and an E or D on his practical so an S while not the highest, was a huge jump in his results.

"You've really improved from the beginning of the year. You can now cast spells easily now, I'm proud of you, Shin- _chan_!"

Over the months, they had gradually gotten closer until Shinichi now called Kaito, Kaito instead of Kaito- _kun_ or Kuroba and Kaito had nicknamed Shinichi, Shin- _chan_ to the younger boy's sputtered protests.

It was also partially due to their growing closeness that led Shinichi to impulsively plant a kiss on Kaito's cheek before he even knew what he was doing. When his actions registered in his brain, he jumped backwards in shock, face hot and unable to make eye contact with a similarly red-faced Kaito who had a hand pressed to his cheek.

 _Well, uh, this changes things._

In what way, only time would tell.

 **X**

 **A/N: Wow, almost one year later this story is finally completed. Well, I hope you like it, Eve Of The Stars, and if anybody is interested, a sequel to 'Of Dreams and Fantasy' is being written right now and** _ **might**_ **be up soon, depending on my schedule. I also want to mention that 'The Journey To Save A Princess' is now on indefinite hiatus until I sort out the story so sorry to those who are still looking forward to the next chapter. Anyways, this is the end for this story, I hope you leave a review to tell me what you think about the chapter and** _ **maybe**_ **favourite it? Thanks for reading!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **-SilvCyanide**


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